Usage of synchronization signal block index in new radio

ABSTRACT

A base station may determine an SS block index associated with an SS block for transmission, and may scramble information based on at least a portion of the determined SS block index. The information may include at least one of a reference signal, data, paging information, control information, broadcast information, or a CRC associated with control information. The base station may transmit the SS block and scrambled information to a UE. A UE may receive an SS block and information scrambled based on at least a portion of an SS block index associated with the SS block. The information may include at least one of a reference signal, data, paging information, control information, broadcast information, or a CRC associated with control information. The UE may descramble the scrambled information based on the at least the portion of the SS block index.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/462,872, entitled “USAGE OF SYNCHRONIZATION SIGNAL BLOCK INDEX INNEW RADIO” and filed on Feb. 23, 2017, which is expressly incorporatedby reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, andmore particularly, to usage of a synchronization signal block index forscrambling.

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of suchmultiple-access technologies include code division multiple access(CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency divisionmultiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous codedivision multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. An example telecommunication standardis 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of a continuous mobile broadbandevolution promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) tomeet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security,scalability (e.g., with Internet of Things (IoT)), and otherrequirements. Some aspects of 5G NR may be based on the 4G Long TermEvolution (LTE) standard. There exists a need for further improvementsin 5G NR technology. These improvements may also be applicable to othermulti-access technologies and the telecommunication standards thatemploy these technologies.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

Aspects of the disclosure provide for a base station/user equipment (UE)that scramble/descramble information based on at least a portion of anSS block index, where the SS block index indexes a particular SS blockwithin an SS burst within an SS burst set. The information may bescrambled before being transmitted or may be descrambled after beingreceived.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium,and an apparatus are provided. In one aspect, the apparatus may be abase station. The base station determines a synchronization signal (SS)block index associated with an SS block for transmission. The basestation scrambles information based on at least a portion of thedetermined SS block index. The information includes at least one of areference signal, data, paging information, control information,broadcast information, or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) associatedwith control information. The base station transmits the SS block andthe scrambled information.

In one aspect, the apparatus may be a base station. The base stationreceives, from a UE, information scrambled based on at least a portionof an SS block index. The scrambled information includes at least one ofdata or control information. The base station descrambles the scrambledinformation based on the at least the portion of the SS block index.

In one aspect, the apparatus may be a UE. The UE receives an SS blockand information scrambled based on at least a portion of an SS blockindex associated with the SS block. The information includes at leastone of a reference signal, data, paging information, controlinformation, broadcast information, or a CRC associated with controlinformation. The UE descrambles the scrambled information based on theat least the portion of the SS block index.

In one aspect, the apparatus may be a UE. The UE determines an SS blockindex associated with an SS block for reception. The UE scramblesinformation based on at least a portion of the determined SS blockindex. The information includes at least one of data, controlinformation, or a CRC associated with control information. The UEtransmits the scrambled information to a base station.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed, and this description is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communicationssystem and an access network.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D are diagrams illustrating examples of a DLsubframe, DL channels within the DL subframe, an UL subframe, and ULchannels within the UL subframe, respectively, for a 5G/NR framestructure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station and userequipment (UE) in an access network.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a base station in communication with aUE.

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of an SS burst.

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of SS bursts for differentfrequency bands/carriers.

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a first example of an SS burst set.

FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a second example of an SS burst set.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a first exemplary call-flow diagram fora UE and a base station.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a second exemplary call-flow diagramfor a UE and a base station.

FIG. 9 illustrates flowcharts of methods of wireless communication of abase station.

FIG. 10 illustrates flowcharts of methods of wireless communication of aUE.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the data flowbetween different means/components in an exemplary base stationapparatus.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a base station apparatus employing a processingsystem.

FIG. 13 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the data flowbetween different means/components in an exemplary UE apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a UE apparatus employing a processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented withreference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methodswill be described in the following detailed description and illustratedin the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits,processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”).These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computersoftware, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements areimplemented as hardware or software depends upon the particularapplication and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or anycombination of elements may be implemented as a “processing system” thatincludes one or more processors. Examples of processors includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs),central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors,systems on a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gatedlogic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardwareconfigured to perform the various functionality described throughoutthis disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system mayexecute software. Software shall be construed broadly to meaninstructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,programs, subprograms, software components, applications, softwareapplications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whetherreferred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription language, or otherwise.

Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions describedmay be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded asone or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage mediamay be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise arandom-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electricallyerasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic diskstorage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of theaforementioned types of computer-readable media, or any other mediumthat can be used to store computer executable code in the form ofinstructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communicationssystem and an access network 100. The wireless communications system(also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes basestations 102, UEs 104, and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 160. The basestations 102 may include macro cells (high power cellular base station)and/or small cells (low power cellular base station). The macro cellsinclude base stations. The small cells include femtocells, picocells,and microcells.

The base stations 102 (collectively referred to as Evolved UniversalMobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network(E-UTRAN)) interface with the EPC 160 through backhaul links 132 (e.g.,51 interface). In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 mayperform one or more of the following functions: transfer of user data,radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, headercompression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dualconnectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setupand release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS)messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network(RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriberand equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging,positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 maycommunicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC 160) with eachother over backhaul links 134 (e.g., X2 interface). The backhaul links134 may be wired or wireless.

The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Eachof the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for arespective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlappinggeographic coverage areas 110. For example, the small cell 102′ may havea coverage area 110′ that overlaps the coverage area 110 of one or moremacro base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell andmacro cells may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneousnetwork may also include Home Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) (HeNBs), which mayprovide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group(CSG). The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and theUEs 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link)transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL)(also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102to a UE 104. The communication links 120 may use multiple-input andmultiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatialmultiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communicationlinks may be through one or more carriers. The base stations 102/UEs 104may use spectrum up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100 MHz) bandwidthper carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of YxMHz (x component carriers) used for transmission in each direction. Thecarriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. Allocation ofcarriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or lesscarriers may be allocated for DL than for UL). The component carriersmay include a primary component carrier and one or more secondarycomponent carriers. A primary component carrier may be referred to as aprimary cell (PCell) and a secondary component carrier may be referredto as a secondary cell (SCell).

Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using device-to-device(D2D) communication link 192. The D2D communication link 192 may use theDL/UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 192 may use one or moresidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel(PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physicalsidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel(PSCCH). D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2Dcommunications systems, such as for example, FlashLinQ, WiMedia,Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

The wireless communications system may further include a Wi-Fi accesspoint (AP) 150 in communication with Wi-Fi stations (STAs) 152 viacommunication links 154 in a 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum. Whencommunicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the STAs 152/AP 150may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating inorder to determine whether the channel is available.

The small cell 102′ may operate in a licensed and/or an unlicensedfrequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum,the small cell 102′ may employ NR and use the same 5 GHz unlicensedfrequency spectrum as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102′,employing NR in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage toand/or increase capacity of the access network.

The gNodeB (gNB) 180 may operate in millimeter wave (mmW) frequenciesand/or near mmW frequencies in communication with the UE 104. When thegNB 180 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, the gNB 180 may bereferred to as an mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) ispart of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters.Radio waves in the band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. NearmmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHzand 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications usingthe mmW/near mmW radio frequency band has extremely high path loss and ashort range. The mmW base station 180 may utilize beamforming 184 withthe UE 104 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and shortrange.

The EPC 160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, otherMMES 164, a Serving Gateway 166, a Multimedia Broadcast MulticastService (MBMS) Gateway 168, a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC)170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. The MME 162 may be incommunication with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 isthe control node that processes the signaling between the UEs 104 andthe EPC 160. Generally, the MME 162 provides bearer and connectionmanagement. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferredthrough the Serving Gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDNGateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation aswell as other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 areconnected to the IP Services 176. The IP Services 176 may include theInternet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS StreamingService, and/or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionsfor MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serveas an entry point for content provider MBMS transmission, may be used toauthorize and initiate MBMS Bearer Services within a public land mobilenetwork (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMSGateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to the base stations102 belonging to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN)area broadcasting a particular service, and may be responsible forsession management (start/stop) and for collecting eMBMS relatedcharging information.

The base station may also be referred to as a gNB, Node B, evolved NodeB (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio basestation, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic serviceset (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), or some other suitableterminology. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC160 for a UE 104. Examples of UEs 104 include a cellular phone, a smartphone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system,a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3player), a camera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearabledevice, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or smallkitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a display, or anyother similar functioning device. Some of the UEs 104 may be referred toas IoT devices (e.g., parking meter, gas pump, toaster, vehicles, heartmonitor, etc.). The UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, amobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit,a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, awireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriberstation, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, aremote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, orsome other suitable terminology.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in certain aspects, the UE 104/base station180 may be configured to scramble/descramble information based on an SSblock index (or any part or subset of the SS block index), where the SSblock index indexes a particular SS block within an SS burst within anSS burst set (198). The information may be scrambled based on the SSblock index before being transmitted and/or may be descrambled based onthe SS block index after being received.

FIG. 2A is a diagram 200 illustrating an example of a DL subframe withina 5G/NR frame structure. FIG. 2B is a diagram 230 illustrating anexample of channels within a DL subframe. FIG. 2C is a diagram 250illustrating an example of an UL subframe within a 5G/NR framestructure. FIG. 2D is a diagram 280 illustrating an example of channelswithin an UL subframe. The 5G/NR frame structure may be FDD in which fora particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframeswithin the set of subcarriers are dedicated for either DL or UL, or maybe TDD in which for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier systembandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated forboth DL and UL. In the examples provided by FIGS. 2A, 2C, the 5G/NRframe structure is assumed to be TDD, with subframe 4 a DL subframe andsubframe 7 an UL subframe. While subframe 4 is illustrated as providingjust DL and subframe 7 is illustrated as providing just UL, anyparticular subframe may be split into different subsets that provideboth UL and DL. Note that the description infra applies also to a 5G/NRframe structure that is FDD.

Other wireless communication technologies may have a different framestructure and/or different channels. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into10 equally sized subframes (1 ms). Each subframe may include one or moretime slots. Each slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the slotconfiguration. For slot configuration 0, each slot may include 14symbols, and for slot configuration 1, each slot may include 7 symbols.The number of slots within a subframe is based on the slot configurationand the numerology. For slot configuration 0, different numerologies 0to 5 allow for 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 slots, respectively, per subframe.For slot configuration 1, different numerologies 0 to 2 allow for 2, 4,and 8 slots, respectively, per subframe. The subcarrier spacing andsymbol length/duration are a function of the numerology. The subcarrierspacing may be equal to 2^(μ)*15 kKz, where μ is the numerology 0-5. Thesymbol length/duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing.FIGS. 2A, 2C provide an example of slot configuration 1 with 7 symbolsper slot and numerology 0 with 2 slots per subframe. The subcarrierspacing is 15 kHz and symbol duration is approximately 66.7 μs.

A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each timeslot includes a resource block (RB) (also referred to as physical RBs(PRBs)) that extends 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid isdivided into multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bitscarried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, some of the REs carry reference (pilot)signals (RS) for the UE (indicated as R). The RS may includedemodulation RS (DMRS) and channel state information reference signals(CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The RS may also include beammeasurement RS (BRS), beam refinement RS (BRRS), and phase-noisetracking RS (PT-RS).

FIG. 2B illustrates an example of various channels within a DL subframeof a frame. The physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH) iswithin symbol 0 of slot 0, and carries a control format indicator (CFI)that indicates whether the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)occupies 1, 2, or 3 symbols (FIG. 2B illustrates a PDCCH that occupies 3symbols). The PDCCH carries downlink control information (DCI) withinone or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE including nine REgroups (REGs), each REG including four consecutive REs in an OFDMsymbol. A UE may be configured with a UE-specific enhanced PDCCH(ePDCCH) that also carries DCI. The ePDCCH may have 2, 4, or 8 RB pairs(FIG. 2B shows two RB pairs, each subset including one RB pair). Thephysical hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) (HARQ) indicator channel(PHICH) is also within symbol 0 of slot 0 and carries the HARQ indicator(HI) that indicates HARQ acknowledgement (ACK)/negative ACK (NACK)feedback based on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). Theprimary synchronization channel (PSCH) may be within symbol 6 of slot 0within subframes 0 and 5 of a frame. The PSCH carries a primarysynchronization signal (PSS) that is used by a UE 104 to determinesubframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. The secondarysynchronization channel (SSCH) may be within symbol 5 of slot 0 withinsubframes 0 and 5 of a frame. The SSCH carries a secondarysynchronization signal (SSS) that is used by a UE to determine aphysical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Basedon the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identitygroup number, the UE can determine a physical cell identifier (PCI).Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the locations of theaforementioned DL-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH), whichcarries a master information block (MIB), may be logically grouped withthe PSCH and SSCH to form a synchronization signal (SS)/PBCH block. TheMIB provides a number of RBs in the DL system bandwidth, a PHICHconfiguration, and a system frame number (SFN). The physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system informationnot transmitted through the PBCH such as system information blocks(SIBs), and paging messages.

As illustrated in FIG. 2C, some of the REs carry demodulation referencesignals (DMRS) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE mayadditionally transmit sounding reference signals (SRS) in the lastsymbol of a subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and a UE maytransmit SRS on one of the combs. The SRS may be used by a base stationfor channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent schedulingon the UL.

FIG. 2D illustrates an example of various channels within an UL subframeof a frame. A physical random access channel (PRACH) may be within oneor more subframes within a frame based on the PRACH configuration. ThePRACH may include six consecutive RB pairs within a subframe. The PRACHallows the UE to perform initial system access and achieve ULsynchronization. A physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) may belocated on edges of the UL system bandwidth. The PUCCH carries uplinkcontrol information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, a channelquality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rankindicator (RI), and HARQ ACK/NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data, andmay additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a powerheadroom report (PHR), and/or UCI.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a base station 310 in communication with aUE 350 in an access network. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 maybe provided to a controller/processor 375. The controller/processor 375implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes a radioresource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a packet dataconvergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, anda medium access control (MAC) layer. The controller/processor 375provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of systeminformation (e.g., MIB, SIBs), RRC connection control (e.g., RRCconnection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connectionmodification, and RRC connection release), inter radio access technology(RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurementreporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with headercompression/decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrityprotection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLClayer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer packetdata units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ, concatenation,segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs),re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; andMAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channelsand transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks(TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling informationreporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logicalchannel prioritization.

The transmit (TX) processor 316 and the receive (RX) processor 370implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signalprocessing functions. Layer 1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer,may include error detection on the transport channels, forward errorcorrection (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport channels,interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels,modulation/demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antennaprocessing. The TX processor 316 handles mapping to signalconstellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binaryphase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK),M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation(M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split intoparallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier,multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/orfrequency domain, and then combined together using an Inverse FastFourier Transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a timedomain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded toproduce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channelestimator 374 may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme,as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derivedfrom a reference signal and/or channel condition feedback transmitted bythe UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a differentantenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX maymodulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream fortransmission.

At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives a signal through itsrespective antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers informationmodulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the receive(RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signalprocessing functions. The RX processor 356 may perform spatialprocessing on the information to recover any spatial streams destinedfor the UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 350,they may be combined by the RX processor 356 into a single OFDM symbolstream. The RX processor 356 then converts the OFDM symbol stream fromthe time-domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform(FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbolstream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on eachsubcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated bydetermining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted bythe base station 310. These soft decisions may be based on channelestimates computed by the channel estimator 358. The soft decisions arethen decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signalsthat were originally transmitted by the base station 310 on the physicalchannel. The data and control signals are then provided to thecontroller/processor 359, which implements layer 3 and layer 2functionality.

The controller/processor 359 can be associated with a memory 360 thatstores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 359provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signalprocessing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. Thecontroller/processor 359 is also responsible for error detection usingan ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the DLtransmission by the base station 310, the controller/processor 359provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information(e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurementreporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with headercompression/decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering,integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionalityassociated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correctionthrough ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs,re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; andMAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channelsand transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs,demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting,error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channelprioritization.

Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 358 from a referencesignal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used bythe TX processor 368 to select the appropriate coding and modulationschemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streamsgenerated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antenna352 via separate transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulatean RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

The UL transmission is processed at the base station 310 in a mannersimilar to that described in connection with the receiver function atthe UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives a signal through its respectiveantenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers information modulated onto anRF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 370.

The controller/processor 375 can be associated with a memory 376 thatstores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 375provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processingto recover IP packets from the UE 350. IP packets from thecontroller/processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. Thecontroller/processor 375 is also responsible for error detection usingan ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

FIG. 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating a base station 402 in communicationwith a UE 404. Referring to FIG. 4, when the UE 404 turns on, the UE 404searches for a nearby NR network. The UE 404 discovers the base station402, which belongs to an NR network. The base station 402 transmits anSS block including the PSS, SSS, and the PBCH (including the MIB)periodically in different transmit directions 402 a-402 h. The UE 404receives the transmission 402 e including the PSS, SSS, and PBCH. Basedon the received SS block, the UE 404 synchronizes to the NR network andcamps on a cell associated with the base station 402.

As discussed supra, the PSS, SSS, and PBCH may be transmitted within anSS block. Each SS block has a corresponding SS block index (alsoreferred to as SS/PBCH block index) indicated in FIG. 4 as one of 0, 1,. . . , n−1. The PSS, SSS, and PBCH may be time division multiplexedand/or frequency division multiplexed with the SS block (FIG. 4 showsthe PSS, SSS, and PBCH time division multiplexed within an SS block).While FIG. 4 shows the PSS, SSS, and PBCH as consecutive in time, thePSS, SSS, and PBCH may be non-consecutive in time, and therefore may bespaced from each other by one or more slots/symbols (i.e., may not beadjacent to each other in time). The SS block may include othersignals/channels, and therefore other signals/channels other than thePSS, SSS, and PBCH may be multiplexed into the SS block. One or multipleSS blocks make up an SS burst. The number of SS blocks n in an SS burstmay vary. SS blocks may or may not be consecutive with respect to thecorresponding SS block index. SS blocks within an SS burst may or maynot be the same. One or multiple SS bursts make up an SS burst set. Theperiodicity (period P) of SS bursts and the number of SS bursts in an SSburst set may vary. The number of SS bursts within an SS burst set isfinite. The transmission of SS burst sets may be periodic or aperiodic.

FIG. 5A is a diagram 500 illustrating an example of an SS burst. FIG. 5Bis a diagram 550 illustrating an example of SS bursts for differentfrequency bands/carriers. FIG. 6A is a diagram 600 illustrating a firstexample of an SS burst set. FIG. 6B is a diagram 650 illustrating asecond example of an SS burst set. As illustrated in the diagram 500 ofFIG. 5A, an SS burst includes a plurality of SS blocks corresponding toSS block indices 0, 1, . . . , 7. A subset 502 of the SS blocks (seeindices 2, 5, in this example) may be preconfigured such that they maybe off (i.e., not transmitted) to allow for transmission of an ULcontrol block instead. As illustrated in the diagram 550 of FIG. 5B,different bands may have different SS burst configurations. For example,in band X, an SS burst may include SS blocks 0, 1, . . . , 7, with SSblocks 2, 5 being preconfigured for on/off to allow for transmission ofan UL control block instead. For another example, in band Y, an SS burstmay include SS blocks 0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 with SS blocks 1, 4, 7 beingpreconfigured for on/off to allow for transmission of an UL controlblock instead. The illustrated SS burst may be an i^(th) SS burst withinan SS burst set. As illustrated in the diagram 600 of FIG. 6A, in afirst example, an SS burst set may include K different SS bursts 0, 1, .. . , K−1. The time length of the SS burst set may be N*10 ms, where Nis an integer. Referring to FIG. 6B, the periodicity (period P₁) of anSS burst in an SS burst set is how often an SS burst is transmitted inan SS burst set. The periodicity of beam sweeping (period P₂) is howoften a beam sweeping SS burst repeats itself in an SS burst set. A UEmay use repetitive SS bursts in an SS burst set to filter a referencesignal received power (RSRP) over time for the same beam directionand/or to train sub-arrays. In the example of FIG. 6B, the SS burst sethas a time length of 80 ms, the periodicity P₁ of the SS burst is 20 ms,and the periodicity P₂ of beam sweeping is 40 ms.

As discussed supra, the SS block index may be used to indicate an SSblock within an SS burst or within an SS burst set. When the SS blockindex is used to indicate an SS block within an SS burst, SS bursts mayhave an SS burst index to indicate the particular SS burst within an SSburst set. As such, an SS block index can indicate an SS block within anSS burst within an SS burst set (e.g., SS block indices are 0, 1, . . ., n*K−1 for SS blocks in an SS burst set, where there are n SS blocksper SS burst and K SS bursts in an SS burst set), or the combination ofan SS block index and an SS burst index can indicate an SS block withinan SS burst within an SS burst set (e.g., SS block indices are 0, 1, . .. , n−1 for SS blocks in each SS burst set, and SS burst indices are 0,1, . . . , K−1 for SS bursts in an SS burst set). Herein, SS block indexmay refer to one or more indices for indicating an SS block within an SSburst within an SS burst set. A mapping function may be used to map anSS block index to a logic index. There may be a one to one mapping, withone SS block index mapped to one logic index. Alternatively, there maybe a many to one mapping, with multiple SS block indices mapped to onelogic index.

FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating a first exemplary call-flow diagramfor a UE 702 and a base station 704. As illustrated in FIG. 7, at 710,the base station 704 determines an SS block index associated with an SSblock for transmission at 714. As discussed supra, the SS block mayinclude at least one of a PSS, an SSS, or a PBCH. The base station 704may determine the SS block index based on which SS block is beingtransmitted in a particular beam of a set of beams (see FIG. 4, 402a-402 h).

At 712, the base station 704 scrambles information based on thedetermined SS block index. The base station 704 may scramble theinformation by generating a scrambling sequence based on asequence/scrambling initialization that is based at least in part on theSS block index. For example, the scrambling initialization forscrambling the information may be based on any subset of the SS blockindex. For another example, the scrambling initialization for scramblingthe information may be based on both a subset of the SS block index andthe cell ID of the base station 704 (K_(ID) ^(CELL)). If the SS blockindex is m bits, the subset of the SS block index may include 1 to mbits. In one example, the subset of the SS block index may be X leastsignificant bits (LSBs) of the SS block index, where X may be 2 or 3. Inone example, the SS block index is 6 bits (e.g., b₅b₄b₃b₂b₁b₀) and the 3LSBs (e.g., b₂b₁b₀) of the SS block index are used for the scramblinginitialization for scrambling the information. The information beforescrambling may be encoded and/or unencoded, and may be scrambled basedon the generated scrambling sequence. The information includes at leastone of a reference signal, data, paging information, controlinformation, broadcast information, or a CRC associated with controlinformation. In one configuration, the reference signal is at least oneof CSI-RS, measurement RS (MRS) (also referred to as mobility RS), DMRS(for a PDCCH, a PDSCH, or a PBCH), or PT-RS. In one configuration, thedata is for a PDSCH, the paging information is for a paging channel(PCH), the control information is for a PDCCH, and the broadcastinformation is for a PBCH. When the information includes a scrambledCRC, the control information associated with the scrambled CRC may ormay not be scrambled itself based on the SS block index.

For example, the sequence initialization for scrambling DMRS (e.g., PBCHDMRS) may be based on the cell ID of the base station 704 and on the 3LSBs of the SS block index. Specifically, the initialization for thePBCH DMRS may be c_(init)=2¹¹.(Í_(SSB)+1)·(└N_(ID)/4┘+1)+2⁶·(Í_(SSB)+1)+mod(N_(ID),4), where I_(SSB)is the SS block index, and where for max length L=4, Í_(SSB)=I_(SSB)+4HFwhere HF=0 in the first half frame of a radio frame and HF=1 in thesecond half frame of a radio frame, and for max length L=8, and maxL=64, Í_(SSB)=I_(SSB).

For another example, assume the information is broadcast information fora PBCH. Before the encoding/CRC process, the base station 704 mayscramble the PBCH payload based on a scrambling sequence that is basedon the cell ID of the base station 704 (scrambling sequenceinitialization C_(init)=N_(ID) ^(cell)) Subsequently, after theencoding/CRC process, the base station 704 may scramble the encoded PBCHbased on a scrambling sequence that is based on its cell ID (scramblingsequence initialization C_(init)=N_(ID) ^(cell)) and X LSBs of the SSblock index. The X LSBs bits of the SS block index are used to determinea sequential non-overlapping portion of the sequence. The sequence maybe a Gold sequence of length M(2^(X)), where M is the number of bits tobe scrambled. The sequence may be partitioned into 2^(X) non-overlappingportions. The X LSBs bits of the SS block index uniquely identifyindices of each of the non-overlapping portion of the sequence, whereX=2 for max length L=4, and X=3 for max length L=8 or 64. For X=3, thesequence index (e.g., b₂b₁b₀) used for each PBCH may be as follows(where M is the number of bits to be scrambled):

(b2) (b1) (b0) Sequence Index Used for Each PBCH 0 0 0   0~M − 1 0 0 1 M~2M − 1 0 1 0 2M~3M − 1 0 1 1 3M~4M − 1 1 0 0 4M~5M − 1 1 0 1 5M~6M −1 1 1 0 6M~7M − 1 1 1 1 7M~8M − 1

At 714, the base station 704 transmits the SS block and the scrambledinformation to the UE 702. The SS block may include the scrambledinformation.

The base station 704 may use the SS block index to scramble a CRC whenencoding a DL control payload. The base station 704 may use thescrambled CRC to convey a quasi-colocation (QCL) parameter for a controlchannel without explicit signaling. Two antenna ports are said to bequasi co-located if properties of the channel over which a symbol on oneantenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which asymbol on the other antenna port is conveyed. QCL may support beammanagement functionality (at least including spatial parameters),frequency/timing offset estimation functionality (at least includingDoppler/delay parameters), and radio resource management (RRM)functionality (at least including average gain). In NR, all or a subsetof DMRS antenna ports may be quasi co-located. The conveyed QCLparameter may indicate QCL of reference signals associated with a beampair including a beam associated with the control channel and thecorresponding SS block index. By decoding the control channel andobtaining the SS block index, the UE 702 may be able to determine theQCL parameter associated with SS block index. The control channel mayinclude a common control channel (CCCH) and/or a UE specific controlchannel (e.g., dedicated control channel (DCCH)). When the UE 702decodes such DL control channel, the UE 702 may use the decoded DLcontrol information or may discard the decoded DL control informationdepending on whether the UE 702 is configured to receive such controlinformation scrambled by the SS block index. Referring again to 710, thebase station 704 may determine an SS block to be used by the UE 702 inassociation with QCL of reference signals. In such a configuration, at712, the base station 704 may generate a CRC based on controlinformation to be transmitted to the UE 702, and may scramble the CRCbased on the determined SS block index. At 714, the base station 704 maysend the control information and the SS-block-index scrambled CRC to theUE 702.

At 714, the UE 702 receives the SS block including information scrambledbased on the SS block index associated with the SS block.

At 716, the UE 702 descrambles the scrambled information based on the SSblock index. The UE 702 may descramble the information itself based onthe SS block index, or may descramble a CRC associated with theinformation based on the SS block index. In the latter case, the UE 702may decode the information based on the descrambled CRC.

When the scrambled information 714 includes a CRC scrambled based on anSS block index, the UE 702 may descramble the CRC based on the SS blockindex, and decode received control information based on the descrambledCRC (e.g., decode received control information, generate a CRC based onthe decoded control information, and compare the generated CRC to thedescrambled CRC to determine whether the control information wasdecoded/descrambled successfully). Subsequently, at 718, the UE maydetermine a QCL parameter based on the SS block index used to descramblethe CRC. As discussed supra, the QCL parameter may indicate QCL ofreference signals associated with a beam pair including a beamassociated with the control channel and the corresponding SS blockindex.

FIG. 8 is a diagram 800 illustrating a second exemplary call-flowdiagram for a UE and a base station. At 810, a UE 804 determines an SSblock index associated with an SS block for reception. The SS blockassociated with the SS block index may have been previously received ormay be received in the future. At 810, the UE 804 may receive an uplinkgrant from the base station 802, and may determine the SS block indexbased on the uplink grant. For example, if the UE receives an UL grantand an SS block in or associated with a beam, the UE may determine theSS block index to be the SS block index associated with the same beam asthe UL grant. Alternatively, the UE 804 may receive, from the basestation 802, information indicating the SS block index and, at 810, maydetermine the SS block index based on the received information.

At 812, the UE 804 scrambles information based on the determined SSblock index. The UE 804 may scramble the information by generating ascrambling sequence based on a sequence initialization that is based atleast in part on the SS block index. The information before scramblingmay be encoded and/or unencoded, and may be scrambled based on thegenerated scrambling sequence. The information includes at least one ofdata, control information, or a CRC associated with control information.In one configuration, the data is for a PUSCH, and the controlinformation is for a PUCCH.

At 814, the UE 804 transmits the scrambled information to a base station802. When the scrambled information includes a CRC scrambled by the SSblock index, the UE 804 may transmit UL control information along withthe SS-block-index scrambled CRC. The base station 802 receives, fromthe UE, the information scrambled based on the SS block index.

At 816, the base station 802 descrambles the scrambled information basedon the SS block index. When the scrambled information includes a CRCscrambled based on an SS block index, the base station 802 maydescramble the CRC based on the SS block index, and decode the receivedUL control information based on the descrambled CRC (e.g., decode thereceived UL control information, generate a CRC based on the decoded ULcontrol information, and compare the generated CRC to the descrambledCRC to determine whether the UL control information wasdecoded/descrambled successfully).

FIG. 9 illustrates flowcharts 900, 950 of methods of wirelesscommunication of a base station. With respect to the flow chart 900, at904, a base station determines an SS block index associated with an SSblock for transmission. As discussed supra in relation to FIG. 4, the SSblock may include at least one of a PSS, an SSS, or a PBCH. If the basestation transmits n SS blocks within an SS burst, and transmits K SSbursts within an SS burst set, the base station may determine the SSblock index based on which SS block is being sent within a particular SSburst of an SS burst set. As such, the SS block index may be a functionof n and K, as discussed supra in relation to FIGS. 6A, 6B. In oneexample, the SS block index I_(SSB) may be one parameter within 0, 1, .. . , n*K−1 for indicating the SS block within an SS burst within an SSburst set. In another example, the SS block index I_(SSB) may be twoparameters, with a first parameter between 0, 1, . . . , n−1 (e.g.,s₂s₁s₀c₀, if 4 bits with n=16) for indicating a particular SS blockwithin an SS burst, and a second parameter between 0, 1, . . . , K−1(e.g., b₅b₄b₃b₂b₁b₀, if 6 bits with K=64) to indicate a particular SSburst within an SS burst set.

At 906, the base station scrambles information based on at least aportion of the determined SS block index I_(SSB). The information may bescrambled based on a subset (a portion of) of the SS block indexI_(SSB), such as for example, X LSBs of the SS block index. Theinformation includes at least one of a reference signal, data, paginginformation, control information, broadcast information, or a CRCassociated with control information. The reference signal may be atleast one of CSI-RS, MRS, DMRS (e.g., for a PDCCH, a PDSCH, or a PBCH),or PT-RS. In one configuration, the data is for a PDSCH, the paginginformation is for a PCH, the control information is for a PDCCH, andthe broadcast information is for a PBCH. Using at least a portion of thedetermined SS block index I_(SSB), the base station may scramble one ormore of the various types of information. The base station may scramblethe information by generating a scrambling sequence based on a sequenceinitialization that is based at least in part on the at least theportion of the SS block index. The information before scrambling may beencoded and/or unencoded, and may be scrambled based on the generatedscrambling sequence.

In one configuration, the scrambled information includes the CRCscrambled based on the at least the portion of the SS block index, andthe CRC is for control information sent to the UE. In such aconfiguration, at 902, the base station may determine an SS block to beused by a UE in association with QCL of reference signals. Further, at906, the base station may scramble the CRC based on the at least theportion of the SS block index of the determined SS block in 902 to beused by the UE in association with QCL of reference signals.

At 908, the base station transmits the SS block and the scrambledinformation. The scrambled information may be transmitted with(concurrently in time with) or without (non-concurrently in time with)the SS block. For example, when the scrambled information is the PBCH,the scrambled PBCH is sent with the SS block. However, when thescrambled information is control information with a CRC, the scrambledcontrol information with a CRC may not be transmitted concurrently intime with the SS block.

With respect to the flow chart 950, at 952, a base station may send, toa UE, an uplink grant for information, where the uplink grant isassociated with an SS block index. Alternatively, the base station maysend, to the UE, SS block index information indicating an SS block indexfor scrambling information.

At 954, the base station receives, from the UE, the informationscrambled based on at least a portion of the SS block index. Thescrambled information includes at least one of data or controlinformation. In one configuration, the data is for a PUSCH, and thecontrol information is for a PUCCH.

At 956, the base station descrambles the scrambled information based onthe at least the portion of the SS block index. For example, the basestation may receive information from the UE that is scrambled based onthe at least the portion of the SS block index, and may descramble thereceived information based on the at least the portion of the SS blockindex. For another example, the base station may receive the informationwith a CRC scrambled based on the at least the portion of the SS blockindex. The base station may descramble the CRC received from the UE,decode the information, generate a CRC based on the decoded information,and compare the generated CRC to the descrambled CRC to determinewhether the information received from the UE was decoded/descrambledsuccessfully.

FIG. 10 illustrates flowcharts 1000, 1050 of methods of wirelesscommunication of a UE. With respect to the flow chart 1000, at 1002, aUE receives an SS block and information scrambled based on at least aportion of an SS block index associated with the SS block. As discussedin relation to FIG. 4, the SS block may include at least one of a PSS,an SSS, or a PBCH. The information includes at least one of a referencesignal, data, paging information, control information, broadcastinformation, or a CRC associated with control information. In oneconfiguration, the reference signal is at least one of CSI-RS, MRS, DMRS(e.g., for a PDCCH, a PDSCH, or a PBCH), or PT-RS. In one configuration,the data is for a PDSCH, the paging information is for a PCH, thecontrol information is for a PDCCH, and the broadcast information is fora PBCH.

At 1004, the UE descrambles the scrambled information based on the atleast the portion of the SS block index. In one configuration, thescrambled information includes a CRC scrambled based on the at least theportion of the SS block index. In such a configuration, at 1004, the UEdescrambles the CRC based on the at least the portion of the SS blockindex, and decodes received control information based on the descrambledCRC.

In the configuration in which the UE descrambles the CRC based on the atleast the portion of the SS block index and decodes received controlinformation based on the descrambled CRC, at 1006, the UE may determinea QCL parameter based on the at least the portion of the SS block indexused to descramble the CRC.

With respect to the flow chart 1050, at 1052, a UE may receive an uplinkgrant from a base station. Alternatively, the UE may receive, from thebase station, information indicating an SS block index.

At 1054, the UE determines the SS block index associated with an SSblock for reception. The UE may determine the SS block index based onthe uplink grant, or otherwise, based on the information indicating anSS block index.

At 1056, the UE scrambles information based on at least a portion of thedetermined SS block index. The information includes at least one of dataor control information. In one configuration, the data is for a PUSCH,and the control information is for a PUCCH. The UE may scramble theinformation itself and/or may scramble a CRC associated with theinformation. The UE may scramble the information by generating ascrambling sequence based on a sequence initialization that is based atleast in part on the at least the portion of the SS block index. Theinformation before scrambling may be at least one of encoded orunencoded, and may be scrambled based on the generated scramblingsequence.

At 1058, the UE transmits the scrambled information to a base station.The scrambled information may include the information scrambled based onthe at least the portion of the SS block index, or may include both theinformation and a CRC (generated based on the information) that isscrambled based on the at least the portion of the SS block index.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual data flow diagram 1100 illustrating the dataflow between different means/components in an exemplary apparatus 1102.The apparatus may be a base station, such as the base station 180, 402,704, 802. The apparatus includes an SS block index determinationcomponent 1108 that may be configured to determine an SS block indexassociated with an SS block for transmission. The SS block indexdetermination component 1108 may provide the determined SS block indexto an SS block index scrambler/descrambler component 1106. The SS blockindex scrambler/descrambler component 1106 may be configured to scrambleinformation based on at least a portion of the determined SS blockindex. The information may include at least one of a reference signal,data, paging information, control information, broadcast information, ora CRC associated with control information. After scrambling theinformation, the SS block index scrambler/descrambler component 1106 mayprovide the scrambled information to a transmission component 1110. Thetransmission component 1110 may be configured to transmit the SS blockand the scrambled information to a UE 1150.

As discussed supra, the reference signal may be at least one of CSI-RS,MRS, DMRS (e.g., for a PDCCH, a PDSCH, or a PBCH), or PT-RS. Further,the data may be for a PDSCH, the paging information may be for a PCH,the control information may be for a PDCCH, and the broadcastinformation may be for a PBCH. The SS block may include at least one ofa PSS, an SSS, or a PBCH.

The scrambled information may include the CRC scrambled based on the atleast the portion of the SS block index, where the CRC is for controlinformation sent to the UE 1150. In such a configuration, the SS Blockindex determination component 1108 may be configured to determine an SSblock to be used by the UE 1150 in association with QCL of referencesignals, and the CRC may be scrambled based on the at least the portionof the SS block index of the determined SS block to be used by the UE1150 in association with QCL of reference signals.

The SS block index scrambler/descrambler component 1106 may beconfigured to scramble the information by generating a scramblingsequence based on a sequence initialization that is based at least inpart on the at least the portion of the SS block index. The informationbefore scrambling may be at least one of encoded or unencoded, and maybe scrambled based on the generated scrambling sequence.

The apparatus 1102 may further include a reception component 1104 thatis configured to receive, from the UE 1150, information scrambled basedon at least a portion of an SS block index, where the scrambledinformation includes at least one of data or control information. Thereception component 1104 may provide the received scrambled informationto the SS block index scrambler/descrambler component 1106. Thereception component 1104 may also provide SS block index informationassociated with the received scrambled information to the SS block indexdetermination component 1108 so that the SS block index determinationcomponent 1108 may determine an SS block index associated with thereceived scrambled information. In such case, the SS block indexdetermination component 1108 may provide the SS block index associatedwith the received scrambled information to the SS block indexscrambler/descrambler component 1106. The SS block indexscrambler/descrambler component 1106 may be configured to descramble thescrambled information based on the at least the portion of the SS blockindex.

As discussed supra, the data may be for a PUSCH, and the controlinformation may be for a PUCCH. The transmission component 1110 may beconfigured to send, to the UE 1150, an uplink grant for the information,wherein the uplink grant is associated with the SS block index.Alternatively, the SS block index determination component 1108 mayprovide an SS block index to the transmission component 1110, and thetransmission component 1110 may send, to the UE 1150, SS block indexinformation indicating the SS block index for scrambling theinformation. The SS block index scrambler/descrambler component 1106 maybe configured to scramble the information by generating a scramblingsequence based on a sequence initialization that is based at least inpart on at least a portion of the SS block index, where the informationbefore scrambling is at least one of encoded or unencoded, and theinformation is scrambled based on the generated scrambling sequence.

The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of theblocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowcharts 900, 950 ofFIG. 9. As such, each block in the aforementioned flowcharts 900, 950 ofFIG. 9 may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include oneor more of those components. The components may be one or more hardwarecomponents specifically configured to carry out the statedprocesses/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to performthe stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable mediumfor implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

FIG. 12 is a diagram 1200 illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus 1102′ employing a processing system1214. The processing system 1214 may be implemented with a busarchitecture, represented generally by the bus 1224. The bus 1224 mayinclude any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on thespecific application of the processing system 1214 and the overalldesign constraints. The bus 1224 links together various circuitsincluding one or more processors and/or hardware components, representedby the processor 1204, the components 1104, 1106, 1108, 1110 and thecomputer-readable medium/memory 1206. The bus 1224 may also link variousother circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators,and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, andtherefore, will not be described any further.

The processing system 1214 may be coupled to a transceiver 1210. Thetransceiver 1210 is coupled to one or more antennas 1220. Thetransceiver 1210 provides a means for communicating with various otherapparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1210 receives asignal from the one or more antennas 1220, extracts information from thereceived signal, and provides the extracted information to theprocessing system 1214, specifically the reception component 1104. Inaddition, the transceiver 1210 receives information from the processingsystem 1214, specifically the transmission component 1110, and based onthe received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one ormore antennas 1220. The processing system 1214 includes a processor 1204coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1206. The processor 1204 isresponsible for general processing, including the execution of softwarestored on the computer-readable medium/memory 1206. The software, whenexecuted by the processor 1204, causes the processing system 1214 toperform the various functions described supra for any particularapparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 1206 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the processor 1204 when executingsoftware. The processing system 1214 further includes at least one ofthe components 1104, 1106, 1108, 1110. The components may be softwarecomponents running in the processor 1204, resident/stored in thecomputer readable medium/memory 1206, one or more hardware componentscoupled to the processor 1204, or some combination thereof. Theprocessing system 1214 may be a component of the base station 310 andmay include the memory 376 and/or at least one of the TX processor 316,the RX processor 370, and the controller/processor 375.

In one configuration, the apparatus 1102/1102′ for wirelesscommunication is a base station and may include means for determining anSS block index associated with an SS block for transmission. Theaddition, the apparatus may include means for scrambling informationbased on at least a portion of the determined SS block index, where theinformation includes at least one of a reference signal, data, paginginformation, control information, broadcast information, or a CRCassociated with control information. Further, the apparatus may includemeans for transmitting the SS block and the scrambled information. Inone configuration, the scrambled information includes the CRC scrambledbased on the at least the portion of the SS block index, and the CRC isfor control information sent to the UE. In such a configuration, theapparatus may further include means for determining an SS block to beused by a UE in association with QCL of reference signals. The CRC maybe scrambled based on the at least the portion of the SS block index ofthe determined SS block to be used by the UE in association with QCL ofreference signals. In one configuration, the means for scrambling theinformation may be configured to generate a scrambling sequence based ona sequence initialization that is based at least in part on the at leastthe portion of the SS block index, where the information beforescrambling is at least one of encoded or unencoded, and the informationis scrambled based on the generated scrambling sequence.

In one configuration, the apparatus 1102/1102′ for wirelesscommunication is a base station and may include means for receiving,from a UE, information scrambled based on at least a portion of an SSblock index, where the scrambled information includes at least one ofdata or control information. The apparatus may further include means fordescrambling the scrambled information based on the at least the portionof the SS block index. In one configuration, the apparatus furtherincludes means for sending, to the UE, an uplink grant for theinformation, where the uplink grant is associated with the SS blockindex. In one configuration, the apparatus may further include means forsending, to the UE, SS block index information indicating the SS blockindex for scrambling the information.

The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementionedcomponents of the apparatus 1102 and/or the processing system 1214 ofthe apparatus 1102′ configured to perform the functions recited by theaforementioned means. As described supra, the processing system 1214 mayinclude the TX Processor 316, the RX Processor 370, and thecontroller/processor 375. As such, in one configuration, theaforementioned means may be the TX Processor 316, the RX Processor 370,and the controller/processor 375 configured to perform the functionsrecited by the aforementioned means.

FIG. 13 is a conceptual data flow diagram 1300 illustrating the dataflow between different means/components in an exemplary apparatus 1302.The apparatus may be a UE, such as the UE 104, 404, 702, 804. Theapparatus includes a reception component 1304 configured to receive anSS block and information scrambled based on at least a portion of an SSblock index associated with the SS block. The SS block may include atleast one of a PSS, an SSS, or a PBCH. The information includes at leastone of a reference signal, data, paging information, controlinformation, broadcast information, or a CRC associated with controlinformation. The reception component 1304 may provide the scrambledinformation to an SS block index scrambler/descrambler component 1306.The SS block index scrambler/descrambler component 1306 may beconfigured to descramble the scrambled information based on the at leastthe portion of the SS block index.

The reference signal may be at least one of CSI-RS, MRS, DMRS (e.g., fora PDCCH, a PDSCH, or a PBCH), or PT-RS. The data may be for a PDSCH, thepaging information may be for a PCH, the control information may be fora PDCCH, and the broadcast information may be for a PBCH.

The scrambled information may include the CRC scrambled based on the atleast the portion of the SS block index. In such a configuration, the SSblock index scrambler/descrambler component 1306 may be configured todescramble the scrambled information based on the at least the portionof the SS block index by descrambling the CRC based on the at least theportion of the SS block index, and decoding received control informationbased on the descrambled CRC. The apparatus may further include a QCLcomponent 1312 that is configured to determine a QCL parameter based onthe at least the portion of the SS block index used to descramble theCRC.

The apparatus may further include an SS block index determinationcomponent 1308 that is configured to determine an SS block indexassociated with an SS block for reception. The SS block indexdetermination component 1308 may receive SS block index information fromthe reception component 1304 in order to determine the SS block index.The SS block index determination component 1308 may provide thedetermined SS block index to an SS block index scrambler/descramblercomponent 1306. The SS block index scrambler/descrambler component 1306may be configured to scramble information based on the at least theportion of the determined SS block index. The information may include atleast one of data, control information, or a CRC associated with controlinformation. The SS block index scrambler/descrambler component 1306 mayprovide the scrambled information to a transmission component 1310. Thetransmission component 1310 may be configured to transmit the scrambledinformation to a base station 1350.

The data may be for a PUSCH, and the control information may be for aPUCCH. The reception component 1304 may be configured to receive anuplink grant from the base station 1350. The SS block indexdetermination component 1308 may determine the SS block index based onthe uplink grant. Alternatively, the reception component 1304 may beconfigured to receive, from the base station 1350, SS block indexinformation indicating the SS block index. The reception component 1304may provide the SS block index information to the SS block indexdetermination component 1308 so that the SS block index determinationcomponent 1308 may determine the SS block index. The SS block indexscrambler/descrambler component 1306 may be configured to scramble theinformation by generating a scrambling sequence based on a sequenceinitialization that is based at least in part on the at least theportion of the SS block index. The information before scrambling may beat least one of encoded or unencoded, and the information may bescrambled based on the generated scrambling sequence.

The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of theblocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowcharts of FIG. 10. Assuch, each block in the aforementioned flowcharts of FIG. 10 may beperformed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more ofthose components. The components may be one or more hardware componentsspecifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm,implemented by a processor configured to perform the statedprocesses/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium forimplementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

FIG. 14 is a diagram 1400 illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus 1302′ employing a processing system1414. The processing system 1414 may be implemented with a busarchitecture, represented generally by the bus 1424. The bus 1424 mayinclude any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on thespecific application of the processing system 1414 and the overalldesign constraints. The bus 1424 links together various circuitsincluding one or more processors and/or hardware components, representedby the processor 1404, the components 1304, 1306, 1308, 1310, 1312 andthe computer-readable medium/memory 1406. The bus 1424 may also linkvarious other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltageregulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in theart, and therefore, will not be described any further.

The processing system 1414 may be coupled to a transceiver 1410. Thetransceiver 1410 is coupled to one or more antennas 1420. Thetransceiver 1410 provides a means for communicating with various otherapparatus over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1410 receives asignal from the one or more antennas 1420, extracts information from thereceived signal, and provides the extracted information to theprocessing system 1414, specifically the reception component 1304. Inaddition, the transceiver 1410 receives information from the processingsystem 1414, specifically the transmission component 1310, and based onthe received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one ormore antennas 1420. The processing system 1414 includes a processor 1404coupled to a computer-readable medium/memory 1406. The processor 1404 isresponsible for general processing, including the execution of softwarestored on the computer-readable medium/memory 1406. The software, whenexecuted by the processor 1404, causes the processing system 1414 toperform the various functions described supra for any particularapparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 1406 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the processor 1404 when executingsoftware. The processing system 1414 further includes at least one ofthe components 1304, 1306, 1308, 1310, 1312. The components may besoftware components running in the processor 1404, resident/stored inthe computer readable medium/memory 1406, one or more hardwarecomponents coupled to the processor 1404, or some combination thereof.The processing system 1414 may be a component of the UE 350 and mayinclude the memory 360 and/or at least one of the TX processor 368, theRX processor 356, and the controller/processor 359.

In one configuration, the apparatus 1302/1302′ for wirelesscommunication is a UE and may include means for receiving an SS blockand information scrambled based on at least a portion of an SS blockindex associated with the SS block. The information includes at leastone of a reference signal, data, paging information, controlinformation, broadcast information, or a CRC associated with controlinformation. The apparatus may further include means for descramblingthe scrambled information based on the at least the portion of the SSblock index. In one configuration, the scrambled information includesthe CRC scrambled based on the at least the portion of the SS blockindex, and the means for descrambling the scrambled information based onthe at least the portion of the SS block index is configured todescramble the CRC based on the at least the portion of the SS blockindex, and to decode received control information based on thedescrambled CRC. In such a configuration, the apparatus may furtherinclude means for determining a QCL parameter based on the at least theportion of the SS block index used to descramble the CRC.

In one configuration, the apparatus 1302/1302′ for wirelesscommunication is a UE and may include means for determining an SS blockindex associated with an SS block for reception. The apparatus mayfurther include means for scrambling information based on at least aportion of the determined SS block index. The information may include atleast one of data, control information, or a CRC associated with controlinformation. The apparatus may further include means for transmittingthe scrambled information to a base station.

In one configuration, the apparatus may further include means forreceiving an uplink grant from the base station, where the SS blockindex is determined based on the uplink grant. In one configuration, theapparatus may further include means for receiving, from the basestation, information indicating the SS block index. In oneconfiguration, the means for scrambling the information may beconfigured to generate a scrambling sequence based on a sequenceinitialization that is based at least in part on at least a portion ofthe SS block index, where the information before scrambling is at leastone of encoded or unencoded, and the information is scrambled based onthe generated scrambling sequence.

The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementionedcomponents of the apparatus 1302 and/or the processing system 1414 ofthe apparatus 1302′ configured to perform the functions recited by theaforementioned means. As described supra, the processing system 1414 mayinclude the TX Processor 368, the RX Processor 356, and thecontroller/processor 359. As such, in one configuration, theaforementioned means may be the TX Processor 368, the RX Processor 356,and the controller/processor 359 configured to perform the functionsrecited by the aforementioned means.

As discussed supra, a base station/UE may scramble/descrambleinformation based on at least a portion (subset) of an SS block index,where the SS block index indexes a particular SS block within an SSburst within an SS burst set. The SS block index may be one or multiplevalues to indicate a particular SS block index within an SS burst withinan SS burst set. The information may be scrambled before beingtransmitted or may be descrambled after being received. For a basestation transmitting information, the information may be at least one ofa reference signal, data, paging information, control information,broadcast information, or a CRC associated with control information. Fora UE transmitting information, the information may be at least one ofdata, control information, or a CRC associated with control information.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in theprocesses/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of exemplaryapproaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that thespecific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may berearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. Theaccompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in asample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” The word “exemplary” is used hereinto mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspectdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as“at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least oneof A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or anycombination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and mayinclude multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically,combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B,or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and“A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, Aand B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinationsmay contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All structuraland functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspectsdescribed throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims.Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to thepublic regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited inthe claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” andthe like may not be a substitute for the word “means.” As such, no claimelement is to be construed as a means plus function unless the elementis expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication of a basestation, comprising: determining a synchronization signal (SS) blockindex associated with an SS block for transmission; scramblinginformation based on a SS block index portion comprising at least aportion of the determined SS block index, the information including atleast one of data, paging information, control information, or a cyclicredundancy check (CRC) associated with control information; andtransmitting the SS block and the scrambled information.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the information includes a reference signal (RS)which is at least one of channel state information (CSI) RS (CSI-RS),measurement RS (MRS), demodulation RS (DMRS), or a phase-noise trackingRS (PT-RS).
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the scrambled informationcomprises DMRS.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is associatedwith a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the paging informationis associated with a paging channel (PCH), and the control informationis associated with a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the scrambled information comprises broadcastinformation on a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the SS block includes at least one of a primarysynchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS),or a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the scrambled information includes the CRC scrambled based onthe SS block index portion, wherein the control information associatedwith the CRC is sent on a control channel to a user equipment (UE), andwherein the scrambled information conveys a quasi-colocation (QCL)parameter to the UE associating the control channel with the determinedSS block index.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein scrambling theinformation comprises generating a scrambling sequence based on asequence initialization that is based at least in part on the SS blockindex portion, wherein the information before scrambling is one ofencoded or unencoded, and wherein the information is scrambled based onthe generated scrambling sequence.
 9. A method of wireless communicationof a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a synchronization signal(SS) block and information scrambled based on a SS block index portioncomprising at least a portion of an SS block index associated with theSS block, the information including at least one of a data, paginginformation, control information, or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)associated with control information; and descrambling the scrambledinformation based on the SS block index portion.
 10. The method of claim9, wherein the information includes a reference signal (RS) which is atleast one of channel state information (CSI) RS (CSI-RS), measurement RS(MRS), demodulation RS (DMRS), or a phase-noise tracking RS (PT-RS). 11.The method of claim 10, wherein the scrambled information comprisesDMRS.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the data is associated with aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the paging information isassociated with a paging channel (PCH), and the control information isassociated with a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the scrambled information comprisesbroadcast information on a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).
 14. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the SS block includes at least one of aprimary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal(SSS), or a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).
 15. The method of claim9, wherein the scrambled information includes the CRC scrambled based onthe SS block index portion, and descrambling the scrambled informationcomprises: descrambling the CRC based on the at least the portion of theSS block index portion; decoding received control information on acontrol channel based on the descrambled CRC, and determining a quasi-colocation (QCL) parameter associating the control channel with the SSblock index based on the SS block index portion used to descramble theCRC.
 16. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus being abase station, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupledto the memory and configured to: determine a synchronization signal (SS)block index associated with an SS block for transmission; scrambleinformation based on a SS block index portion comprising at least aportion of the determined SS block index, the information including atleast one of data, paging information, control information, or a cyclicredundancy check (CRC) associated with control information; and transmitthe SS block and the scrambled information.
 17. The apparatus of claim16, wherein the information includes a reference signal (RS) which is atleast one of channel state information (CSI) RS (CSI-RS), measurement RS(MRS), demodulation RS (DMRS), or a phase-noise tracking RS (PT-RS). 18.The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the scrambled information comprisesDMRS.
 19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the data is associated witha physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the paging information isassociated with a paging channel (PCH), and the control information isassociated with a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).
 20. Theapparatus of claim 19, wherein the scrambled information comprisesbroadcast information on a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).
 21. Theapparatus of claim 20, wherein the SS block includes at least one of aprimary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal(SSS), or a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).
 22. The apparatus ofclaim 16, wherein the scrambled information includes the CRC scrambledbased on the SS block index portion, wherein the control informationassociated with the CRC is sent on a control channel to a user equipment(UE), and wherein the scrambled information conveys a quasi-colocation(QCL) parameter to the UE associating the control channel with thedetermined SS block index.
 23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the atleast one processor scrambles the information by generating a scramblingsequence based on a sequence initialization that is based at least inpart on the SS block index portion, wherein the information beforescrambling is one of encoded or unencoded, and wherein the informationis scrambled based on the generated scrambling sequence.
 24. Anapparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus being a userequipment (UE), comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupledto the memory and configured to: receive a synchronization signal (SS)block and information scrambled based on a SS block index portioncomprising at least a portion of an SS block index associated with theSS block, the information including at least one of data, paginginformation, control information, or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)associated with control information; and descramble the scrambledinformation based on the SS block index portion.
 25. The apparatus ofclaim 24, wherein the information includes a reference signal (RS) whichis at least one of channel state information (CSI) RS (CSI-RS),measurement RS (MRS), demodulation RS (DMRS), or a phase-noise trackingRS (PT-RS).
 26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the scrambledinformation comprises DMRS.
 27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein thedata is associated with a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), thepaging information is associated with a paging channel (PCH), and thecontrol information is associated with a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH).
 28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the scrambledinformation comprises broadcast information on a physical broadcastchannel (PBCH).
 29. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the SS blockincludes at least one of a primary synchronization signal (PSS), asecondary synchronization signal (SSS), or a physical broadcast channel(PBCH).
 30. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the scrambled informationincludes the CRC scrambled based on the SS block index portion, and theat least one processor is configured to descramble the scrambledinformation by: descrambling the CRC based on the SS block indexportion; decoding received control information on a control channelbased on the descrambled CRC, and wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to determine a quasi-co location (QCL) parameterassociating the control channel with the SS block index based on the SSblock index portion used to descramble the CRC.